Residents angry over flood plan

NORTH Malling and Malling Deanery residents feel betrayed and angry at the Environment Agency's current proposals to omit their areas from any Lewes flood defence work.

The situation was summed up this week by Mantell Close resident Martin Brown who said he felt abandoned.

And he added: 'No doubt the Agency will walk away from the town, smugly assuming that they have done a good job, leaving us poor souls with unsaleable, uninsurable millstones of houses. I challenge the Agency to offer to buy our houses. It seems unlikely anyone else will want to.'

The homes in this part of Lewes were particularly badly hit by the October 2000 floods. But the Agency is saying there is no 'economic case' for providing flood defences to the north of the town although it is offering defences in the main areas of Lewes.

Peter Atkins of River House, Malling Deanery, said it had cost insurers 180,000 to get his property back to normal after the floods.

He had also taken measures to defend the house against smaller floods, including tanking the building to window level and providing flood doors for any emergency.

But he added: 'We feel betrayed and furious at the absence of any flood protection in our area, and the divisive nature of the proposals for the town as a whole.'

He was also concerned that heightening of the river walls and embankments in Lewes proper might worsen the situation for those left unprotected.

If that was the case, he would have to consider what action to take.

Wendy Simmons of Monks Way was also concerned that heightened walls might make flood waters even deeper to the north of town.

In her opinion a floodplain should be constructed to the north of Lewes so that floodwaters did not arrive with such force.

The lack of defence work in her area made her feel even more insecure about future flooding.

Derek Cleaver of Monks Way is another Lewes resident who favours the construction of some form of reservoir in the Uckfield area to contain flood waters.

His home was flooded by 6ft of water in October 2000.

He also believes raising Cliffe Bridge will help stop flood waters backing up the river.

'The river at times is simply not big enough to take the volume of water coming down it,' he added.

'Of course we also need flood defences for North Malling and the Deanery. It's common sense.'